He finally woke up. Luka Doncic produced a major performance last night during the victory of his Dallas Mavericks team over the Oklahoma City Thunder (104-92). The Slovenian leader of the Texan team scored more than 30 points (31 exactly), a first for him since the first round of the play-offs. He also added 10 rebounds and 11 assists to his tally, giving him a new triple-double, the 6th of his career in the playoffs, but especially the 3rd this year. No one this season has done as well.
But Luka Doncic has finally taken matters into his own hands. Since the start of the series against OKC, the Slovenian leader appeared a little behind, less effective. Last night’s meeting led to his return to favor.
“I let my team down”
“I felt that I had let my team down in recent matches,” he admitted after the match. “I did everything I could to catch up and help my teammates this time. I’m knocking on wood, but things are going well for the moment! We need one more game to finish this series. To do this, we will have to maintain the same mentality. »
The Mavericks now lead 3-2 in their conference semifinal against Oklahoma City. All they need is one victory to validate their ticket to the Western Conference final. From Saturday and the Thunder reception? Since the start of this series, teams playing at home have only won twice, compared to three for those playing away…
It took a great Doncic, capable of scoring at any time, to overcome OKC. Opposite, the brilliant Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also reached the 30-point mark, but was less well supported by his teammates. “SGA” had a 57% success rate, adding 6 rebounds and 7 assists, posing him as a formidable threat for the coming seasons. Above all, against a Doncic who has mastered all aspects of the game, from mid-distance shooting to the more difficult three-point shot (45% success rate), it was not enough.
Jayson Tatum did a bit of everything to lead the @celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals ‼️
☘️ 25 PTS
☘️ 10 REB
☘️ 9 AST
☘️ 4 STL
☘️ 3 3PMBoston makes their 3rd straight ECF appearance and awaits the winner of New York/Indiana. pic.twitter.com/PVUSOEKBut
— NBA (@NBA) May 16, 2024
On the other side of the United States, the Boston Celtics were the first to validate their ticket to the conference final. They won quite easily against the Cleveland Cavaliers (113-98), notably thanks to their leader Jayson Tatum, author of 25 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists, coming very close to a triple-double which would have rewarded his performance . Boston can calmly await the outcome of the other semi-final, which pits New York against Indiana.
